Web Design & Development

[ Web Design & Development Topics ]

Analyzing Web Page Design

There is no set way to design a site, although there are a few general rules of thumb:

• The navigation should always be on the screen somehow (not "below the fold" where the user can't see it - think newspaper for the origins of that saying)
• The logo should be in the upper left and should link back to your home page

Perhaps the best thing for you to do is take a look at the styles of other styles and really think about what you like and don't like while doing it. Here are some to get you started:

• http://www.leoburnett.ca/
• http://www.beonsite.com/
• http://www.fullsail.com/
• http://www.absolut.com/
• http://www.digitalbrand.com/
• http://www.tokyoplastic.com/
• http://www.fontsforflash.com/
• http://bimbo.grupow.com/
• http://www.gdc.net/
• http://www.eoloperfido.com/
• http://www.nike.com/
• http://www.jiong.com/
• http://www.net-service.it/
• http://www.laserlines.com/
• http://www.roasting.com/

Web Analysis and Reporting Tools

You may want to consider using some type of software on your server that will track which pages are hit most often, what ones don't work, etc. One commonly used is Google Analytics. These software packages most often cover things like: most used pages/directories, least used pages/directories, broken links, orphaned pages (don't link from anywhere), number of hits/sessions/unique users, time of day/day of week most used. This can help you determine what works best on your site and where things are not as you would expect them to be.

Learn more at:

• http://dir.yahoo.com/Arts/Design_Arts/Graphic_Design/Web_Page_Design_and_Layout/Bad_Style/
• http://dir.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Data_Formats/HTML/Validation_and_Checkers/